Handheld Toy

ABSTRACT

A handheld, bead-play toy includes a plurality of hub aspects, a plurality of rail aspects, and one or more beads. Each rail aspect interconnects two different hub aspects. Each bead is slideably connected to a rail aspect.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/240,943, filed Sep. 9, 2009, entitled Handheld Toy, the entirety ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Toys are often an important part of a child's learning and developmentprocess. Furthermore, toys entertain children and allow children toexercise their imagination and creativity.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to a handheld, bead-play toy. It issuitable for use by people of all ages and can be particularlyentertaining and educational for young children. The toy provides manydifferent levels of play. At a most simplistic level, the seeminglychaotic shape of the toy can be visually stimulating to young minds. Ata slightly more advanced level, the toy can be turned and/or shaken tomake noise and provide visual stimulation. At an even more advancedlevel, the toy provides an opportunity to practice physical and mentaldexterity as beads are manually and purposefully moved about the toy. Atits most advanced level, the simultaneously simplistic and complicatedgeometrical relationships between the various aspects of the toy can bestudied, thus providing a fun way to learn about symmetry, patterns,geometry, and other mathematical concepts. The toy can provide sensorystimulation including tactile stimulation, visual stimulation, audiblestimulation, and even oral stimulation. The toy may also promote thedevelopment of fine motor skills and/or teach cause and effectrelationships.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example handheld, bead-play toy in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2A-2D show an example hub piece useable to construct handheld,bead-play toys in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 3A-3D show example rail pieces useable to construct handheld,bead-play toys, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 4A-4C show an example bead useable to construct handheld,bead-play toys in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 shows an example arrangement in which a rail piece entirely formsa rail aspect of a handheld, bead-play toy in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows an example arrangement in which a rail piece and a hubpiece cooperate to form a rail aspect of a handheld, bead-play toy inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows an example arrangement in which an integrated piece forms arail aspect of a handheld, bead-play toy in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows an example, handheld, bead-play toy in accordance withanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a nonlimiting example of a handheld, bead-play toy 10. Toy10 includes a plurality of hub aspects 12 (e.g., hub aspect 12 a, hubaspect 12 b, hub aspect 12 c, and hub aspect 12 d). Toy 10 also includesa plurality of rail aspects 14 (e.g., rail aspect 14 a, rail aspect 14b, rail aspect 14 c, rail aspect 14 d, rail aspect 14 e, and rail aspect14 f) interconnecting the various hub aspects 12. Furthermore, toy 10includes a plurality of beads 16 (e.g., bead 16 a, bead 16 b, bead 16 c,bead 16 d, bead 16 e, bead 16 f, bead 16 g, bead 16 h, bead 16 i, bead16 j, bead 16 k, and bead 16 l) slideable along the rail aspects 14.

Toy 10 is shown with four hub aspects 12, six rail aspects 14, andtwelve beads 16. However, it is to be understood that toys can beconstructed with virtually any number of hub aspects, rail aspects, andbeads. The example embodiments shown in the drawings and describedherein are not limiting, but rather demonstrate concepts that may beapplied to toys of different configurations, sizes, shapes, colors,materials, number of hub aspects, number of rail aspects, and/or numberof beads. All such toys are within the intended scope of thisdisclosure.

FIGS. 2A-2D show a nonlimiting example of a hub aspect 12 formed from asingle hub piece 18. In general, hub aspects in accordance with thepresent disclosure are configured to operatively connect to two or morerail aspects. In the illustrated embodiment, hub aspect 12 is formedfrom a single hub piece 18 that is configured to be coupled to threephysically distinct rail pieces (not shown). As such, hub piece 18includes a central portion 20, from which three spoke portions (e.g.,spoke portion 22 a, spoke portion 22 b, and spoke portion 22 c) extend.

In other embodiments, a hub piece may include a different number ofspoke portions, thus allowing operative connections to a differentnumber of rail aspects. While hub piece 18 is characterized by a smoothand somewhat spiraling shape, it is to be understood that other shapesare within the scope of this disclosure. The spoke portions can berelatively long and skinny as shown, or the spoke pieces can besubstantially wider. In some embodiments, a hub aspect may not have anyvisually discernable spoke portions, but rather rail connection pointsthat are located near a perimeter of an unspoked piece. Spoke portionscan be tapered along their lengths, as shown, and/or spoke portions canhave a substantially uniform thickness along their lengths. An end orother part of a spoke portion can be sized to prevent a bead fromsliding toward the central portion of the hub aspect along the spokeportion.

At the end of each spoke potion 22, hub piece 18 includes a mortise(e.g., mortise 24 a, mortise 24 b, and mortise 24 c). Each mortise isconfigured to mate with a corresponding tenon from a rail piece, asdescribed below. In the illustrated embodiment, each mortise ishexagonally shaped. However, a mortise can be differently shaped withoutdeparting from the intended scope of this disclosure. Other polygonalmortises, circular mortises, triangular mortises, starred mortises,rectangular mortises, and mortises of virtually any other shape can beused. Likewise, the corresponding tenons of the rail pieces may be sizedand shaped to mate with any particular mortise.

FIG. 2C and a magnified portion of FIG. 2A shows a mortise 24 a in moredetail. As can be seen, mortise 24 a includes a key 28. The key 28 isconfigured to cooperate with a corresponding key of the rail, so thatthe mortise and the tenon can only mate in one orientation, which canfacilitate assembly of the toy. While key 28 is shown as a dovetailedprojection, it is to be understood that virtually any key, whetherprojection, slot, or other, may be used without departing from the scopeof this disclosure.

Hub pieces may be manufactured using any suitable technique with anysuitable material or combinations of materials. As one nonlimitingexample, hub pieces can be injection molded using 120 shore A hardnesspolyvinyl chloride (PVC). PVC and/or other plastics may be shaped intohub pieces using various molding, casting, and extrusion techniques.Furthermore, rubbers, metals, woods, glasses, fiber composites, and/orother materials may be used without departing from the intended scope ofthis disclosure. The material, shape, thickness, structure, and size ofthe hub pieces can be selected to achieve a desiredflexibility/resiliency, or otherwise tune various parameters of anassembled toy (e.g., weight, rattling volume, size, cost, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 1, each of a plurality of hub pieces that are used toconstruct a toy may have substantially the same shape. In otherembodiments, one or more hub pieces may be differently shaped than oneor more other hub pieces. Toy 10 includes hubs that are sized and theshaped for easy gripping by small hands.

FIGS. 3A-3D show nonlimiting examples of a rail aspect 14 formed from arail piece (i.e., rail piece 30 a in FIGS. 3A-3C and rail piece 30 b inFIG. 3D). In general, rail aspects in accordance with the presentdisclosure are configured to extend between two or more hub aspects. Inthe embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3C, rail aspect 14 is formed froma single rail piece 30 a that is configured to be coupled to twophysically distinct hub pieces (not shown). As such, rail piece 30 aincludes opposing end portions (i.e., end portion 32 a and end portion32 b).

Rail piece 30 a has a somewhat helical shape in the illustratedembodiment. The length and/or shape of the rail pieces may be selectedto hold the various hub pieces in a desired spatial arrangement relativeto one another. Rail piece 30 a is substantially symmetrical about itsmidpoint along its length. As shown in FIG. 1, each of the plurality ofrail pieces that are used to construct a toy may have substantially thesame length and substantially the same shape. In other embodiments, oneor more rail pieces may be differently sized and/or shaped than one ormore other rail pieces and/or one or more rail pieces may beasymmetrical about its midpoint along its length.

Turning back to FIGS. 3A-3D, as introduced above, the rail piecesinclude a tenon at each end (e.g., tenon 34 a and tenon 34 b of railpiece 30 a, and tenon 36 of rail piece 30 b). Such tenons can beconfigured to mate with a corresponding mortise from a hub piece, asdescribed above. Tenon 34 a and tenon 34 b are shaped with asubstantially circular cross section, and tenon 36 is shaped with asubstantially hexagonal cross section. However, a tenon can bedifferently shaped without departing from the intended scope of thisdisclosure. Other polygonal tenons, triangular tenons, starred tenons,rectangular tenons, and tenons of virtually any other shape can be used.

Hexagonal tenon 36 is configured to mate with hexagonal mortise 24 a,hexagonal mortise 24 b, or hexagonal mortise 24 c of hub piece 18 ofFIGS. 2A-2D. As such, hexagonal tenon 36 includes a key 38 configured tocooperate with a corresponding key of hub piece 18, so that the tenonand the mortise can only mate in one orientation. While key 38 is shownas a dovetailed slot, it is to be understood that virtually any key,whether slot, projection, or other, may be used without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. In some embodiments, a circular tenon(e.g., tenon 34 a) may mate with a hexagonal mortise. The gaps betweenthe tenon and the mortise provide a space for glue or another fastener,thus reducing potential spill out when a tenon is inserted in a mortisethat is preloaded with glue.

In other embodiments, a rail piece may include a mortise and a hub piecemay include a tenon. Furthermore, a mortise and tenon connection neednot be used to physically connect a rail piece and a hub piece.Virtually any connection technique may be used without departing fromthe intended scope of this disclosure. Welds, glues, magnetism, andother forms of connecting two distinct structures together may be used.Such connection techniques can be used independently of one another orin conjunction with other connection techniques. For example, a mortiseand tenon connection can be augmented with a glue or weld. Furthermore,in some embodiments, a rail aspect and a hub aspect may be commonlyformed from an integrated structure (e.g., a single injection moldedpiece of plastic). It is to be noted that several of the connectiontechniques described herein allow strong and permanent connectionswithout using screws or other small connection pieces that could bedangerous to small children.

A rail piece can be tapered. As a nonlimiting example, rail piece 30 ais approximately 5.5 mm in cross section at its midpoint andapproximately 6 5 mm in cross section at its ends. Such tapering mayfacilitate bead movement along its length. Whether tapered or not, arail piece may be formed with a variety of different cross sectionalshapes, which may be uniform along the length of the rail piece, orwhich may change along the length of the rail.

Rail pieces may be manufactured using any suitable technique with anysuitable material or combinations of materials. As one nonlimitingexample, rail pieces can be injection molded using acrylonitrilebutadiene styrene (ABS). ABS and/or other plastics may be shaped intorail pieces using various molding, casting, and extrusion techniques.Furthermore, rubbers, metals, woods, glasses, fiber composites, and/orother materials may be used without departing from the intended scope ofthis disclosure. The material, shape, thickness, structure, and size ofthe rail pieces can be selected to achieve a desiredflexibility/resiliency, or otherwise tune various parameters of anassembled toy (e.g., weight, rattling volume, size, cost, etc.).

FIGS. 4A-4C show a nonlimiting example of a bead 16. In general, beadsin accordance with the present disclosure are configured to slide orotherwise move along a rail aspect. In the illustrated embodiment, thebeads are toroidally shaped with a hole 40 large enough to fit around arail aspect. In such embodiments, the hole can be sized to snuggly fitabout a rail aspect, thus creating increased friction between the railand the bead and limiting rattling and movement. In other embodiments,the hole can be sized to loosely fit about a rail aspect, thus reducingfriction between the rail and the bead and promoting rattling andmovement. A toroidal bead is provided as an example, but beads of othershapes are within the intended scope of this disclosure. In someembodiments, the beads may be decorated or themed (e.g., to resemblecars, trains, characters, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 1, when assembled, a toy may include one or more beadsslideably connected to one or more rail aspects. In the illustratedembodiment, each rail aspect serves as a track for two beads. In otherembodiments, different rails may include different numbers of beads, andsome or all rails may include no beads. The length of a rail aspect andthe size of the beads are the only limits on how many beads can beslideably connected to each rail aspect. All beads can be sized andshaped the same, or one or more beads can be sized and/or shapeddifferently than one or more other beads. Some beads may not include afully surrounded hole through which a rail aspect passes. A bead mayinclude virtually any type of sliding joint.

Beads may be manufactured using any suitable technique with any suitablematerial or combinations of materials. As one nonlimiting example, beadscan be injection molded using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). ABSand/or other plastics may be shaped into beads using various molding,casting, and extrusion techniques. Furthermore, rubbers, metals, woods,glasses, fiber composites, and/or other materials may be used withoutdeparting from the intended scope of this disclosure. The material,shape, thickness, structure, and size of the beads can be selected totune various parameters of an assembled toy (e.g., weight, rattlingvolume, size, cost, etc.).

As describe above, in some embodiments, each rail aspect is completelyformed by a single rail piece. This type of arrangement is illustratedin FIG. 5. In particular, a rail piece 50 forms the entire length of therail aspect 52 along which a bead 54 can slide. In this arrangement, anend 56 of a hub piece 58 is too large for the bead to slide past, andthus effectively forms the boundary between the rail aspect and the hubaspect. Another arrangement is shown in FIG. 6, where a rail piece 60and a hub piece 62 collectively form the length of the rail aspect 64along which a bead 66 can slide. In this arrangement, an intermediateportion 68 of hub piece 62 tapers to a width that is too large for thebead to slide past, and thus effectively forms the boundary between therail aspect and the hub aspect. Another arrangement is shown in FIG. 7,where an integrated piece 70 forms the hub aspect 72 and the rail aspect74. In this arrangement, an intermediate portion 76 of the integratedpiece 70 tapers to a width that is too large for a bead 78 to slidepast, and thus effectively forms the boundary between the rail aspectand the hub aspect. A toy can be designed with any one or more of theabove described arrangements.

In some embodiments, one or more beads may be fixed to a rail aspect soas not to slide relative to the rail aspect. Such a bead may be fixed toan end portion of a rail aspect, where the rail aspect meets a hubaspect, and/or such a bead may be fixed to an intermediate portion ofthe rail aspect between the opposing ends of the rail aspect. Whenpositioned at an end of the rail aspect, a bead may be additionally oralternatively fixed to the hub aspect. A bead may be fixed to a railand/or hub aspect in any suitable manner, including but not limited to,ultrasonic welding, adhesive, and/or integrated molding.

FIG. 8 shows a nonlimiting example of a handheld, bead-play toy 80. Toy80 includes a hub aspect 82, a rail aspect 84, and a bead 86 that isfixed to an end portion of rail aspect 84.

Returning to toy 10 of FIG. 1, an example assembly of the hub pieces,rail pieces, and beads described above is shown. Each of the hub piecesincludes three spokes and three mortises. As such, each hub piece can belinked to up to three other hub pieces via a rail piece. Toy 10 isassembled so that each of the four hub pieces is linked to each of theother three hub pieces via the rail pieces. In other words, no hub pieceis connected to any other hub piece by more than one rail piece.Furthermore, no hub piece is connected to itself by a rail piece (i.e.,both ends of a rail piece are not connected to the same hub piece). Therail pieces are all that hold the various hub pieces together. If notfor the rail pieces, the hub pieces would not be connected to oneanother.

Toy 10 is also configured and assembled so that an end of each spokeportion is adjacent to an end of another spoke portion from another hubpiece. The adjacent ends of the spoke portions form a spoke pair (e.g.,spoke pair 80 a and spoke pair 80 b). Furthermore, each spoke pair isconnected to another spoke pair from two different hub pieces via tworail pieces. This symmetrical geometry creates six spoke pairs, evenlydistributed around a perimeter of the toy.

Toy 10 is configured and assembled so that the various rail pieces aresufficiently spaced relative to all other rail pieces so that no bead onone rail piece can slide into another bead on another rail piece.Furthermore, a curved path of the rails allows beads to travel arelatively long distance. Toy 10 is designed so that when the toy isgripped on the hubs, the beads are free to slide along the rails insidean outer ball-like perimeter defined by the hubs. In many embodiments,bead travel is enhanced by having the rails traversing a volumepredominately inside a perimeter defined by the hubs. Such a volume maybe generally spherical, and the toy may thus be generally ball shaped.However, it is to be understood that rails need not travel through theinterior of such a perimeter in all embodiments, and that one or more(or all) rails may be located near the perimeter established by thehubs. Furthermore, in some embodiments, one or more hubs may be interiora perimeter defined by two or more other hubs.

Toy 10 is configured so that the hub pieces and rail pieces aresufficiently stiff enough to hold a default shape. However, both the hubpieces and the rail pieces are somewhat resilient, thus providing thetoy with some ability to flex out of the default shape. As introducedabove, various aspects of the hub pieces and the rail pieces (e.g.,material, size, structure, etc.) can be selected to tune the overallflexibility of an assembled toy. Toys in accordance with the presentdisclosure can range from completely stiff to completely flaccid.

In some embodiments, the rails and the hubs may be permanentlyconnected, and in other embodiments, the hubs and the rails may beconfigured for repeated assembly and disassembly. In some cases the hubsmay connect to other hubs via a bridge or other means than the rails foradded stability.

Toy 10 is approximately 150 grams when sized with approximately a sixinch diameter and when constructed with PVC hub pieces and ABS railpieces and beads, as described above. Such a relatively light weight toyfacilitates handheld play, even for very young children. When the toy ismoved, gravity and momentum can cause the beads to slide about the railpieces. As the beads slide, they can rattle on the rail pieces andrattle against the hub pieces and/or each other. Such rattling resultsin a toy that generates a clickety-clack sound with only a small amountof movement, which may be enjoyable for young children. While a sixinch, 150 gram toy is described above, it is to be understood that theconcepts described herein can be used to make a toy of virtually anysize or weight.

In some embodiments, the appearance of the toy can be tuned by selectingparticular colors and/or levels of transparency for the hub pieces, railpieces, and/or beads. The hub pieces, rail pieces, and/or beads can becolored the same as all other hub pieces, rail pieces, and beads,respectively, or one or more pieces can be colored differently than oneor more other pieces. For example, all the hub pieces can be the samecolor and same level of transparency (e.g., opaque blue), and all therail pieces can be the same color and same level of transparency (e.g.,opaque white), while some of the beads are visually different than otherbeads (e.g., partially-transparent red, partially-transparent green, andpartially transparent blue). The color configuration described above isonly one of the infinite number of color combinations that can becreated without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

In some embodiments, one or more portions of a toy may includeglow-in-the-dark materials and/or lights (e.g., light emitting diodelights).

It is to be understood that the configurations and/or approachesdescribed herein are exemplary in nature, and that these specificembodiments or examples are not to be considered in a limiting sense,because numerous variations are possible. The embodiments describedabove and the embodiments illustrated in the drawings serve as examplesof the variety of different toys that include multiple hubs that areconnected to each other through rails to encourage hand held play and tomaximize bead travel, distance, and speed, while minimizing beadobstruction by other beads, rails, hubs, and/or hands. Other geometric,organic, and/or random hubs and rails are of course envisioned. Thesubject matter of the present disclosure includes all novel andnonobvious combinations and subcombinations of the variousconfigurations, features, functions, and/or properties disclosed herein,as well as any and all equivalents thereof.

1. A handheld, bead-play toy, comprising: a plurality of hub aspects; aplurality of rail aspects, each rail aspect interconnecting twodifferent hub aspects of the plurality of hub aspects; and one or morebeads slideably connected to one of the plurality of rail aspects.
 2. Ahandheld toy, comprising: four hub pieces, each hub piece including acentral portion and three spoke portions extending from that centralportion; and six rail pieces, each rail piece interconnecting spokeportions from two different hub pieces so that each hub piece isconnected to each other hub piece via a rail piece.
 3. The handheld toyof claim 2, further comprising one or more beads slideably connected toone of the six rail pieces.
 4. The handheld toy of claim 2, furthercomprising a different two beads slideably connected to each of the sixrail pieces.